Workforce Professionals and O*NET
International Association of Workforce Professionals (IAWP)
O*NET Data Set (xlsx)
Presentation (ppt-pdf)
Presentation Live Live Scribe
The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is sponsored by the US Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). I primarily use O*NET as an engine in other databases I develop. I also use O*NET data as the basic building blocks for statistical analysis on a variety of subjects. The data is found in the developers corner on the O*NET site.
This post compares O*NET data bases over the past seven years. In particular, we wanted to know if there was a significant difference in occupational educational requirements from 2003, (version 5) compared to 2009 (version 14). We did not complete any specific statistical significance calculations, mainly as a result of sample size; however, the results are interesting.
Example
We used Dental Assistant as our test sample. We found that there was a decrease in the number of persons which worked as Dental Assistants with only a high school degree in 2009 versus 2003. To off-set that decline there was an increase in Post High School Certificates, AA, and Masters Degrees. See Data Sets, Dental Assistant Calculation.
This indicates there is a different level of education required in 2009 than 2003 for this occupation. O*NET does not tell us why the variance which could be related to increased competition, new technology, certification requirements or other regulatory (insurance) requirements.
For person that work with other trying to locate new work, this is a good place to determine if the applicant has the necessary educational requirements to compete in the job market. For you convenience, I have completed all the calculations on occupations re-surveyed by O*NET between these two time periods. As a result of limited funding, O*NET has only updated approximately 50 occupations. This limited data, still provide UI and human resource persons general guidelines to the change education requirements in both service and goods producing occupations.
O*NET Work Activities Report
For some increased education is not an option. For UI staff, O*NET provides a variety of useful tools to access an applicant’s compatibility with new and likely different work. One such too is the CUSTOM report. See presentation slides. The customer report allows for an analysis of O*NET Descriptors, and in particular WORK ACTIVITIES. When we check work activities and related occupations, and select GO, at the bottom is a list of occupations, with similar work activities and the occupations outlook. This is just one example of the many ways O*NET can assist in breaking through the skills gap barrier.
Developers
If you are a developer, especially in the area of human resources, take another look at O*NET data. I believe you will find it intuitive, relational, and compatible with most of your current database designs enabling you to assist your HR staff and company being more affective in resource development and allocation.
